From Me, To You, With Love
by CrashCourse777
Summary: Ulquiorra has always been empty inside, but when an unexpected encounter with a fallen angel turns his entire world, he receives irreplaceable gift.


**Hello! Just a little oneshot I've had in mind for a while. This is the first thing I've posted in like, forever, so I'm trying to see if I've hopefully still got my writing chops. The very beginning might be a bit confusing, but I imagine the setting to be basically after some sort of cataclysmic war that left everything in ruin. Honestly, I'm not even too sure what happened, it was one of those things where an image just kind of pops into your head, heheh :)**

**I hope you enjoy! Reviews are loved! =D**

**Disclaimer: Me? Owning Bleach? Oh, if only...**

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><p>From Me, To You, With Love<p>

By CrashCourse777

"How long do you plan on standing there?"

Ulquiorra gave no sign that he had heard him, his dark, green eyes fixated on the moon. Grimmjow scowled as he stared at the large wings adorning his comrade's back. The moon shone heavily through the gaping ceiling, the fragmented structure forming a frame for the lonely fixture. Grimmjow ran a hand roughly through his disheveled blue hair before stuffing them back into his pockets, not even bothering to remove the dirt and death. "Ignore me all you want, batboy, it's not gonna change anything." Grimmjow taunted, a hint of bitterness coating his words. He kicked a chunk of rubble absently, an indifferent expression on his face as the debris was sent flying into a nearby wall.

Moonlight reflected into two green eyes, the only sign that their owner was even aware of another presence trying to communicate to him being a simple blink at the sound of falling stone and plaster. Grimmjow clenched his teeth, ignoring the all-too familiar urge to launch his fist into his former comrade's jaw. The two powerful beings stood in the remains of the shattered castle in silence for a few moments, before the blue haired man's nerves finally sparked. Grimmjow turned his back to the demon and sneered. "Whoever said the earth is not a cold dead place, obviously never met you. This world is empty, and all you can do is stare at a rock in the sky."

Just as he was preparing to sonido to somewhere far away from the defeated foundation, Ulquiorra intoned in a deep voice. "Empty," Grimmjow paused mid-step, but didn't turn. Ulquiorra mulled over the word, as if it were of a foreign language. His eyes had lowered to his open hand as if the answer would lie there. They analyzed the creases in his palm, the long claws of his fingers, and the course hide soaked in blood. Ulquiorra's emerald eyes shimmered with something unidentifiable for the briefest of moments, before quickly returning expressionless, his fingers curling closed. "You're right." Grimmjow could have shook his head, but instead opted to simply lift his hand in an obscene gesture over his shoulder without turning, before disappearing out of sight.

Ulquiorra felt the dead air shift with his departure. The demon took one last look at the omnipresent moon, lifeless and pallid, before stepping over rubble and carnage and into the open desert, away from the abandoned ruins.

It was quite a while before he had traveled far enough to leave behind the scent of devastation, lingering long after the image of the fallen palace had melted into the horizon. His feet had sunk into the endless sands again and again, the moonlight guiding his non-existent path, not that he needed it. He never paused to rest and had even stopped searching for lesser creatures to devour, not seeing a point in it other than simply to ensure his existence.

With no particular destination in mind, the world had blended together into an endless seam of sand and darkness. Small reptiles with masks of bone hid under quartz-like trees whenever his presence neared. The moon cast a pallid glow across the sea of sand, dark shadows eclipsing the trail of talon-ed footprints he left behind. Right, left, right, left, again and again and again. Sometimes he would beguile the time by wondering if his feet would continue to walk even after he was dead. Whether or not they had become so accustomed to this endless journey that there would be no end even after the curtain fell.

Ulquiorra paused to stare up at the black sky, and out of habit, he briefly searched the vastness for signs of a star. But of course, there weren't any.

Almost lamenting his inability to sigh, the demon continued to walk, resigned to his fate.

And so, one can imagine how surprising it was to suddenly have this listless, but deeply ingrained system of life disrupted. After all, it wasn't everyday one sees something fall to the earth from the middle of the perpetuallyh night sky.

For a moment, Ulquiorra briefly wondered if he had finally gone mad, before sonido-ing forward for the first time in who knows how long. _  
><em>  
><em>Ba-bump.<em>  
><em><br>_The first thing he noticed when he reached the impacted ground of earth was the sudden sweet smell of the air. The second was the ethereal shade of orange, auburn, and gold that flooded his vision. They blended together perfectly to form a color that would make an artist cry. His emerald eyes were momentarily stunned at the sight, like a blind man seeing the sun. A delicate groan could be heard from below. Ulquiorra found his eyes still lingering on the sight, before slowly dropping.

"Owie..." An equally delicate voice moaned from within the small crater. A lithe hand raised to rub the back of her head, the other somewhere in the sand as she lifted herself up into a sitting position. The girl winced a bit, apparently having found a bump just behind her ear, before craning her neck upwards to pout up at the black sky. "How did I end up here?" She said to herself. The demon watched silently from just a few feet away as the girl ran a hand through her auburn hair, shaking the grains of sand away. It was quite obvious what exactly he had encountered upon when the young girl stretched out her large wings, fine sand rolling off of the white feathers in rivulets.

Seeming not to notice him at first, the girl was brushing the sand off of her ivory satchel when their eyes finally connected. "Eep!" Being still in a seated position, she took to quickly backpedaling from her newly discovered companion in a hectic heap. "H-how long have you been standing there?" She squeaked, silver eyes large and spastic.

"Ever since you fell." Ulquiorra responded dully. Scarlet rushed to the girl's cheeks as she quickly rose to her feet, brushing away the imaginary sand from her white dress with a nonchalant hand. "Oh! Well, that, ummm..." The girl found herself pinned with his deadpan expression, at a loss for words. She self-consciously fingered the strap of the satchel strewn across her body and refused to make eye contact, choosing instead to look stubbornly at something in the distance. _That's a funny looking tree._ She thought as her eyes found something that almost seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. _Or is it a cactus?_

Ulquiorra watched silently as she took in her surroundings with a puzzled expression on her face, obviously beginning to wonder just where exactly she had landed herself. A halcyon breeze passed through the air, replacing the previous sweetness with the familiar stale scent of death in its wake. Ulquiorra felt almost sorry at the loss. The breeze had lifted the girl's coppery hair and Ulquiorra watched, mesmerized, when she habitually raised a delicate hand, pushing the loose strands behind her ear.

The girl had been contemplating whether this strange world had anything yummy to eat, since it looked like she would probably be here a while, when she felt a pair of long fingers gently grasp a lock of her auburn hair. Quickly spinning around, her large wings shifted the air with the movement. Her silver orbs watched, wide and surprised, as Ulquiorra casually inspected the strands with a soft curiosity. He didn't seem to notice her bright eyes upon him as he unconsciously leaned closer. The tendrils felt silky between his index and middle fingers, orange and bright even under the moon. His thumb brushed against the soft strands and that sweet scent once again raised to cloud his senses. Red bloomed across the girl's cheeks when his eyes finally lifted to hers, the strands of tinted gold lightly slipping from his fingers.

_Ba-bump._

She briefly remembers wondering how his eyes were able catch the moonlight so perfectly like they did. _They must do that often_, she thought. _To glow so beautifully. _She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and lifted a delicate hand in the air, the pair of green eyes that had been staring so intently into her own fluctuating at the gesture, like a lake of summery grass shifting in the wind.

"Um, hi." She sung, her lips lifting into a beautiful smile. "My name's Orihime." Ulquiorra eyed her outstretched fingers like he had never seen a handshake before. He tentatively raised a hand, his long fingers curling around hers, completely engulfing her delicate one. Orihime laughed a bit in her smile as the course fur covering his hand to just past his elbow tickled against her palm.

"Ulquiorra."

Orihime become slightly distracted by the sound of his voice, deep and calming, before quickly shaking herself from her daze. Her mind apparently took this moment of lucidness to kindly remind her that she was still quite lost, smack dab in the middle of nowhere. Ulquiorra raised a brow when Orihime's eyes abruptly shot back towards the dark sky, her brows creasing as she searched the vast void in vain.

"I think I fell." Orihime said lamely as her eyes returned to Ulquiorra, her finger pointing upwards. She noticed that their hands were still connected in greeting and red promptly flooded to her cheeks as she shyly pulled her fingers back. Ulquiorra stared down at his palm like a child inspecting a treasure.

"Umm, Ulquiorra," His eyes lifted at the sound of his name, her lips forming the word like she was tasting the feel of it on her tongue. "Do you know any way I could get out of here, by chance?"

She was once again fiddling with the strap of her satchel, her wings folded shyly against her back, the moon casting a milky glow upon her. Ulquiorra couldn't help pausing to take in the sight of her. _Ba-bump._ Orihime seemed to mistake his staring for something else and fidgeted under his intense gaze. "U-um, it's not that I don't enjoy your company or anything! It's just that my friends will probably worry about me if I'm not back soon, they're really protective of me. Although, just between you and me..." Orihime turned her head to the left, then the right, checking to make sure no one else was listening, before leaning towards him in a conspirative way. "I think they worry about me too much. I can take care of myself perfectly fine!" She paused at a thought. "Okay, sure, I managed to fall through to another dimension, but that doesn't mean I can't take care of myself! But, um, back to the point. It's not that I really _want _to leave your home or anything. I-in fact, I think it's quite beautiful!"

Ulquiorra raised a brow at that. _She thinks this place beautiful?_ Orihime noticed the small change in Ulquiorra's expression. Her hand raised to scratch her pink cheek, a nervous habit. "So, um, if you know of any portals or something that you could point me to, that would be great," she peeked up at him through her lashes. She felt the darkening red tint her face at his staring, and quickly tried to backpedal. "B-but, you don't have to help me if you're busy or anything! I can just wander around 'til I find some kind of wormhole or something-!"

"Orihime." She instantly fell quiet. Silently, Ulquiorra lifted a clawed hand and opened a rift.

The tear in the fabric of space appeared just slightly above the height of their heads, the haunting portal widening like the mouth of a giant. His arm dropped back to his side, evergreen eyes never leaving hers, and Orihime took in a shallow breath when she remembered how to breathe. She took in the portal with a smile, and Ulquiorra once again felt like he was seeing the sun. And then her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, embracing him. "Thank you." Her lips were mere centimeters from his ear before pulling away, her face radiant.

Their eyes connected again. Eventually, Orihime was able to bring herself to turn away. One foot slowly lifted and settled onto something unseen in the air, like an invisible step. She could feel his eyes staring at her back. She bit her lip, contemplating. Before her mind could come to a decision, her feet were already moving and she suddenly found herself standing in front of him again, their chests just barely touching.

_Ba-bump._

"U-um, I just wanted to give you something, you know, as thanks for your help!" Ulquiorra tilted his head to the side a bit as Orihime quickly raised the flaps of her satchel with a rustle. Both of her hands delved wrist deep into the confines of the bag, before gently lifting her gift with care into the moonlight.

_Ba-bump._

"It's a heart." Orihime blushed as she carefully placed her gift into his palms, their fingers brushing together. The heart was still, the sinewy muscle pale and lifeless. Ulquiorra felt a faint movement when Orihime's hands had left it, the weight left solely upon his own. Orihime scratched her cheek with a bashful expression. "I know it's not much, but I hope you can accept it." Ulquiorra stared down at the motionless heart in his hands, the light in his eyes fluctuating. They lifted to seek out Orihime's and found her own sparkling with emotion, her smile gently coaxing him. He didn't need to hesitate, his fingers slowly curling around the stillness of her heart.

_Ba-bump._

Warmth suddenly began to spread through his palms, staining his hands. The pair stared with wide eyes as the heart, before motionless and quiet, began to palpitate. The sound reverberated through the air, rhythmic and beautiful. What started out slow at first, began to gain in cadence with each passing beat. Ulquiorra, fascinated, could feel every pull and pulse in hands. It felt so warm, like sunlight. "That's weird." Emerald irises shifted up to Orihime's face, her brow lightly creased in bemusement as she stared in wonder at the unexpected display of life. "It hasn't beaten in years." She murmured, almost to herself.

"Is it a bad thing." Silver orbs blinked, startled. Orihime's eyes met Ulquiorra's inquisitive gaze. She noticed drops of red seeping through the cracks of his fingers, falling to the cold sand below. The heart continued to beat against his hands, his fingers curled around it, as if to keep its warmth from being taken away with the breeze. Orihime smiled warmly. "No," she answered. _Ba-bump._"It's not."

Slowly, she turned towards the portal. Ulquiorra continued to hold her gaze as she reached the top of the intangible staircase, the ominous rift constantly shifting behind her back. Orihime felt a tug inside of her as she stared down at him, her heart beating softly in his hands.

What would people think, if they saw her stepping out of a strange portal with a creature such as him? Would they run away screaming, or would they invite him to tea? Would they find his emerald eyes intriguing and beautiful, or would they only see his dark wings and cold complexion?

And once again, her body reacted without a single thought, and she found her fingers stretching themselves out invitingly. Green eyes widened minutely in surprise.

"Come with me?"

Such a simple question, one that Orihime could only bother to understand by its immediate, literal meaning. Ulquiorra analyzed the creases in her upheld palm, her moonlit hand smooth and delicate. A moment of contemplation, but not long. He shifted the weight of his heart into one hand, the other gently dropping into her own. She blushed when the sound of the heart's palpitation grew louder at the contact. Beads of life dripped from the tips of his jet fur, whilst tiny streams of red fell down the back of her porcelain hand and into the sea of sand. Orihime couldn't help noticing how warm they felt.

The heart, his and hers, continued its beating pulse.

Moonlight washed their backs, and their warm fingers laced together as they stepped through the rift.

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><p><strong>Reviews are like pocky; yummy and appreciated :)<strong>


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